Registration and VAT

Hi. We are Dutch inhabitants, living in the Netherlands. We are building a 53ft sailingyacht by a Dutch yachtbuilder. Our purpose is to go living onboard and sailing all over the world.

1: Is it possible to registrate this yacht in the Channel Islands or elsewhere in the world.
2: Is it legal that the Dutch yachtbuilder can sell to us -or to our company- this yacht without paying VAT in the Netherlands or elsewhere in the EC. ( an VAT-0 option)
3: Is it necessary to start a company out there and how do we do this
4: Do you have experience with people who make arrangements for this
5: What is necessary to do so
6: What are the costs

Jaap en Renee from the Netherlands

Hi Jaap: You will find a discussion of “flags of convenience” in Offshore Cruising Encyclopedia. As to your specific questions, Holland, VAT, etc. it is probably best to check with a tax advisor familiar with your regulations. There are many companies that handle arrangements for flags of convenience. Often you are required to have a corporation, but some jurisdictions now allow individuals to hold title to the boat–I think this is the case now in the Virgin Islands. Regards–Steve Dashew


Posted by Steve Dashew  (November 30, 1999)



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